A studio group performing in the disco-style of the late 70s, Santa Esmeralda made the US charts in 1977-78 with dance-orientated remakes of two songs originally popularized by the British group the Animals in the 60s. Santa Esmeralda featured vocalist Leroy Gomez (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA), a multi-instrumentalist who had played with Elton John, Tavares and others befor
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3 July 1930, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Taking up the clarinet as a small boy, Fountain was sufficiently adept to play and record before he was out of his teens. In the early 50s he worked with various bands in his home town, including the Basin Street Six. In 1954 he formed his own small band and for the next couple of years played with this group and with the Dukes Of Di
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Charles Arthur Feathers, 12 June 1932, Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 August 1998, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The work of rockabilly legend Feathers became more elevated during each revival of interest in the genre. Feathers was an enigmatic superstar, although in reality his influence totally overshadowed his commercial success. His upbringing on a farm, being taught
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27 June 1942, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mills is best remembered for his 1979 international bestseller Music Box Dancer, a Top 5 instrumental hit in the USA. He studied music in Montreal, joining a group called the Bells who recorded some of his compositions. In 1972, he left for a solo career and his first single, Love Me, Love Me Love, on Sunflower
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11 March 1903, Strasburg, North Dakota, USA, d. 17 May 1992, Santa Monica, California, USA. After achieving a measure of competence on the piano-accordion, Welk formed a dance band in the mid-20s, and soon became immensely popular, with engagements at leading hotels and endless one-night stands on the countrys dancehall circuit. The band was widely criticized in the mu
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Richard Vaughn, 12 April 1919, Glasgow, Kentucky, USA, d. 26 September 1991, Escondido, California, USA. An extremely successful orchestra leader, arranger and musical director during the 50s and early 60s. In 1952, singing baritone and playing piano, he formed the Hilltoppers vocal quartet, with Jimmy Sacca, Seymour Speigelman and Don McGuire. They had a string of US hits
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6 November 1916, Attelboro, Massachusetts, USA, d. 12 October 2002, Escondido, California, USA. Taught to play the trombone by his father, Conniff studied arranging with the aid of a mail-order course while still at college. In 1934, after graduation, he worked with small bands in Boston before joining Bunny Berigan as trombonist/arranger in 1937. After a spell with Bob Cros
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Bernard Stanley Bilk, 28 January 1929, Pensford, Somerset, England. A self-taught clarinettist, Bilk made his first public appearance in 1947 while on National Service in Egypt. On his return to the UK, he played as a semi-professional around the Bristol area, before gaining his big break with the Ken Colyer band in 1954. Four years later, under the name Mr Acke
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27 October 1933, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, d. 31 December 1997, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The style and sound of Cramers piano-playing was possibly one of the biggest influences on post-50s country music. His delicate rock n roll sound was achieved by accentuating the discord in rolling from the main note to a sharp or flat, known as slip note
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22 January 1946, London, England. After a tempestuous childhood, during which he was reared by his eccentric grandmother Rose Corre Isaacs in Stoke Newington, McLaren spent the mid- to late 60s at various art colleges. In 1969 he became romantically involved with fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and they subsequently had a son together, Joseph. Malcolm was fascinated by th
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Arthur Ferrante (7 September 1921, New York City, New York, USA) and Louis Teicher (b. 24 August 1924, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA). Ferrante And Teicher met at the age of six while studying at the Juilliard School Of Music, Manhattan, New York. After they graduated as piano majors, they combined teaching and concert work until 1948, when they became full-time piano duet
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Weldon Leo Teagarden, 29 August 1905, Vernon, Texas, USA, d. 15 January 1964, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. One of the giants of jazz, Teagarden began playing trombone and singing in and around his home-town, encouraged by his mother, Helen Teagarden, a pianist. From his early teens he was playing professionally, touring with various bands, notably that led by Peck Kelley. He
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Francis Joseph Spanier, 9 November 1901, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 12 February 1967, Sausalito, California, USA. Spanier began playing cornet while barely in his teens and within a couple of years was a professional musician. His first job was with Elmer Schoebel. By the end of the 20s he had established a reputation mostly in and around Chicago and had been hired by Ted Le
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